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GLOVER’S MISTAKE by Nick Laird

August 11, 2009

SMART, MOPEY LAD-LIT with flashes of humor follows an angry blogger’s unrequited love for a brilliant older artist. B PLUS

GLOVER’S MISTAKE
Penguin Group (USA)
2009

Grade: B PLUS

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A IS FOR ALIEN by Caitlin R. Kiernan

August 10, 2009

NEAR-FUTURE HORRORS fill a spooky suite of science fiction short stories, set in a world beset by an alien plague. SOLID B

A IS FOR ALIEN
Subterranean Press
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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DEKOK AND THE DEAD HARLEQUIN (INSPECTOR DEKOK) (INSPECTOR DEKOK INVESTIGATES) by A. C. Baantjer

August 9, 2009

ANOTHER QUIRKY POLICE PROCEDURAL from a Dutch master of the genre. Believable characters, taut plotting. SOLID B #beachread

DEKOK AND THE DEAD HARLEQUIN (INSPECTOR DEKOK) (INSPECTOR DEKOK INVESTIGATES)
Speck Pr
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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BACK TO THE GARDEN by Pete Fornatale

August 8, 2009

JUST IN TIME FOR THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY, a well-researched oral history of Woodstock spotlights performers, fans. SOLID B

BACK TO THE GARDEN: THE STORY OF WOODSTOCK
Touchstone
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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THE ALTERNATIVE HERO by Tim Thornton

August 7, 2009

THE GREAT UK INDIE-ROCK NOVEL delivers spot-on but warmhearted satire on music geeks and fandom culture. B PLUS #beachread

THE ALTERNATIVE HERO
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2009

Grade: B PLUS

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NO HUMAN ENEMY (SUZIE MOUNTFORD MYSTERIES) by John Gardner

August 5, 2009

WORLD WAR TWO MYSTERY from John Gardner has intriguing plot, spunky heroine, but seems a bit hasty in places. SOLID B

NO HUMAN ENEMY (SUZIE MOUNTFORD MYSTERIES)
Minotaur Books
2008

Grade: SOLID B

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I’M SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY by Diana Joseph

DRYLY FUNNY, SERIOUSLY CURMUDGEONLY memoir offers off-beat perspective on teaching, mothering, loving, and living. SOLID B

I’M SORRY YOU FEEL THAT WAY: THE ASTONISHING BUT TRUE STORY OF A DAUGHTER, SISTER, SLUT, WIFE, MOTHER, ANDFRIEND TO MAN AND DOG
Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
2009

Grade: SOLID B

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UNHOLY BUSINESS by Nina Burleigh

August 4, 2009

REAL-LIFE ADVENTURE TALE of antiquities looting and Biblical forgeries is smart, fascinating, fast-paced. B PLUS #beachread

UNHOLY BUSINESS: A TRUE TALE OF FAITH, GREED AND FORGERY IN THE HOLY LAND
Smithsonian
2008

Grade: B PLUS

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COOKED IN LA by Paul Cook

August 2, 2009

RADIO PERSONALITY’S tale of drug abuse and recovery makes for an honest and even funny, but too rambling, memoir. B MINUS

COOKED IN LA: I SHOT FOR THE STARS AND HIT BOTTOM
Kunati Inc.
2009

Grade: B MINUS

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NOTHING BUT A SMILE by Steve Amick

PERIOD PIECE about love, photography, and the dawn of girlie magazines in the 1940s has humor and charm. B PLUS #beachread

NOTHING BUT A SMILE
Pantheon Books
2009

Grade: B PLUS

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